Kindness' Tune
~companion to Death's Heart and Smile of Forgiveness
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, it belong to Rumiko Takahashi. Furthermore, I don't own Fallen by Lauren Kate, which partially inspired me to write this. Tears In Heaven belong to Eric Clapton.
Summary: Sometimes the wounds that scar you aren't visible. They are far more deep and permanent. But can this amazing woman with a spirit of a warrior made them heal faster?
Rated M 'cause there's Miroku in there.
-x-
The soft strumming of guitar filled the air. The young man, who had a bandage on his left hand, seemed to be deeply concentrated on rhythmic tunes his instrument was making. He suddenly stopped and sighed deeply, looking sorrowfully at the cloth that covered his hand. His deep blue eyes darted away from the sight and he spoke.
"I know you are there Inuyasha, so would you please not be rude and come out." There was a rustling sound behind him and a tall man stepped out of the shadows. His platinum hair didn't reflect the light like it should, but instead sucked it in, and glowed eerie in the darkness. His eyes were once playful pools of gold, but they were now muted and sad.
"Must you always play the guitar when you got nothing else to do?" The blue-eyed man smiled and put the instrument on the hard floor.
"Must you always be cranky when she leaves you?" The sentence clearly hit a nerve because the golden-eyed man frowned. But a second later, he spoke.
"I'm sorry Miroku. But you would think I will get used to it. It's like it's getting harder to let her go every time." The man called Miroku smirked.
"Did you get laid at least?" Inuyasha rolled his eyes.
"You never change, do you?" Miroku smiled, but his expression darkened when his gaze met the dark that was falling outside. He shed another sorrowful look at his hand.
"It's getting worse."
-x-
Sometimes, all you have is hope. And Miroku believed in that, he truly did. Maybe it was because of the attribute he was representing, or maybe it was simply because he believed there was good in people.
Nonetheless, Miroku believed in destiny, he believed in love and kindness. Sometimes, he wondered why they have all eluded him through the centuries. His fist clenched and he came to realization that was the same as every time. He was cursed. His blood was cursed and he was waning from this world, slowly, but surely.
His deep sapphire eyes hid behind his eyelids for a moment as he saw the sun disappearing in the colorful mixture of red, orange and gold. The wind swirled around his wings as one small tear escaped his closed eye.
Maybe, if he just hoped strong enough, he would get a chance at love before he disappeared.
Forever.
-x-
Sango was in a hurry. She was late for her date with Kagome at the library. She actually didn't see the point when she was the owner of a small bookshop right below the apartment Kagome and her shared. Sango and her younger brother, Kohaku, along with Kagome's brother, Souta, helped every time they could.
'She's so going to kill me.' Sango thought as she rushed into the subway. She rushed between the people, trying not to trip somewhere.
She wasn't clumsy by nature, but she had a way of ruining things when she was in hurry. She nearly tripped once, but luckily, she didn't fall. Unfortunately, the train got away right under her nose. Sango sweat dropped.
'Kagome is so going to kill me.' She thought as she reached to fix her high ponytail. She slumped down on a nearby bench and sighed. The next train was leaving in fifteen minutes and she had to do something with her time. She was counting the fourth row of tiles ten minutes later when she heard a soft melodious tune of the guitar.
As the tune glided to her, she instantly recognized the song. She used to listen to it all the time when her parents died. She even learned the play it on a guitar. Her dark brown eyes searched for the source of the music. They found it in a young, dark haired man who was sitting on the floor and just played the instrument.
She found herself instantly drawn to his and his music. Her feet carried her just in front of him. As his dark blue eyes met hers, it seemed like the world stopped for a moment.
But the next moment, he started singing, and she didn't really realize that her own voice had joined in.
"Would you know my name
If I saw you in heaven
Will it be the same
If I saw you in heaven
I must be strong, and carry on
'Cause I know I don't belong
Here in heaven."
'How could I ever forget you, even if I never met you?' The thought was fast like lightning that was evading every cell in her body and she caught herself staring at those beautiful midnight indigo eyes. He shot her a confident grin as he continued.
"Would you hold my hand
If I saw you in heaven
Would you help me stand
If I saw you in heaven
I'll find my way, through night and day
Cause I know I just can't stay
Here in heaven
Time can bring you down
Time can bend your knee
Time can break your heart
Have you begging please
Begging please…"
His fingers continued strumming the wires of his guitar as he played the instrumental part, but his eyes… His eyes never leaved hers. Sango felt blood rushing to her cheeks. She was acting like a teenage girl who just saw her crush on the high school hallway.
But this wasn't high school anymore, and she wasn't that innocent girl anymore. But something deep in those swirls of endless blue, there was the same sorrow, the same sense of age and responsibility. And it stirred something inside her.
And then, his deep voice floated to her ears again.
"Beyond the door
There's peace I'm sure.
And I know there'll be no more...
Tears in heaven
Would you know my name
If I saw you in heaven
Will it be the same
If I saw you in heaven
I must be strong, and carry on
Cause I know I don't belong
Here in heaven
Cause I know I don't belong
Here in heaven…"
He sang that last verse with so much sorrow that it nearly ripped her heart right of her chest. He knew suffering, she was sure. He would understand her.
The dark haired man put his guitar down and relaxed. In the next moment, his eyes were piercing right through her. Sango could hear her train coming to the station, but she couldn't break away from his gaze. Only when someone bumped into her, she remembered how furious Kagome probably was, and ran towards the train.
Although she couldn't see him anymore, she somehow knew that the man was still watching her.
She could feel it on her skin, in her heart, all the way to her very soul.
-x-
Sango went to the subway every day next week. She tried to find the man who captured her with just one glance of his eyes. She didn't find him. Kagome told her that she would see him again.
And somehow, Sango believed her best friend. She sighed as she turned to exit the station, already tired of searching and hoping. She turned her head for one last look around to make sure he wasn't there when she accidently bumped in someone. The force of the impact sent her falling to the ground, but then strong hands wrapped around her and she stopped. She blushed from the embarrassment and started bowing and apologizing.
"Gomennasai, I didn't see you." She kept her head down to keep to try to keep the embarrassment away, but then she felt his touch and his fingers lifting her chin. He forced her to meet his gaze. And when she did… A tornado rampaged through her body, quickening her heartbeat to the point when she thought that her poor heart was going to jump right out of her chest.
Brown met midnight blue and she couldn't look away. And then his fingers wrapped around her hand and she felt the brush of his luscious lips on her skin.
"It's never a shame to meet such a beauty. What name did the Kamis given you, my earth goddess?" He said. Sango blushed even more. He used so much flattery.
"I'm Sango." She said. He smiled.
"I'm Miroku. Nice to meet you my lady Sango." His grin widened as his hands lowered and cupped her bottom. A wave of irritation flushed through Sango as she screamed and slapped him.
"Pervert!"
-x-
Inuyasha sweated as he glanced to the smoke filled room. Miroku and he had a weekly ritual to visit the Shikon café and usually play cards. And now, his old friend was late. And that was weird.
Miroku would usually always come first and hit on the waitresses or even some female customers. His tension finally lightened when a familiar figure entered the room. Miroku was dressed in his usual attire this decade, simple dark shirt and jeans that hung on his hips. But there was something simply different about him tonight.
Koharu, the waitress that actually had a crush on him, waved at him, but he didn't seem to acknowledge that.
'Strange.' Inuyasha thought with a grin building on his face. His blue eyed friend wasn't usually this cheerful, or this ignorant. There was a mass of females in the crowded room of the café right now, but Miroku didn't even glance at them.
His dark eyes were fixed only on his friend that was waiting for him. His face was literally glowing as he sat down beside the golden eyed angel in disguise. They didn't speak for a few seconds, and Inuyasha waited for any signs of lechery from his friend. After he found none, he became really worried. He fixed his tresses which were tied in a low ponytail and said.
"You're late. And you are acting strange." A rather silly grin appeared on Miroku's face.
"My dear friend, I think I'm in love." His eyes sparkled with some strange glow as he said those words. Inuyasha laughed.
"Really Miroku? Or is this another one of your jokes?" He was surprised that his dark eyed friend didn't say anything, he just sat there with a grin plastered on his face. And then he spoke.
"This isn't one of my whims, Inuyasha. This is it. She is it. My Sango, my love for eternity."
-x-
"Sango, wait!" A young man with a red handprint on his face yelled. The furious young woman turned with a killer glare on her face.
"Miroku, how many times must I forbid you to touch me or my bottom?" Her dark eyes sent a rather intimidating look at the young man named Miroku. He stopped dead in his tracks and bowed apologetically.
"I'm sorry my love, But you are so tempting and luscious I cannot stop myself." He gave her his best puppy look and she sighed. She agreed to date him after he somehow suspiciously got her number and asked her out for the first time.
She saw he was a great lecher because a whole lot of women approached him and asked about 'his new girlfriend'. She somehow wanted to kill every last one of them. And the only thing that stopped her from killing him was the look in his eyes every time he glanced at her.
Only one glance told her that she was the only woman in the world for him. But she wasn't used to that kind of love.
And that chilled her to the bottom of her soul.
-x-
It was a rather sunny day and Shikon café was full of guests. On the outside, just below the sign that showed the city the name of the crowded place, two females were sitting and chatting.
The first one was a natural beauty, raven colored hair with dark blue tinted highlight dropping down to her waist. Her intelligent sapphire eyes were laughing at something that the other woman said, but something in them read worry and anxiety.
The other woman was taller and more slender that her friend. Her long dark brown hair was pulled in a high ponytail. Her almond shaped eyes held the color of deepest chocolate brown. She was build athletically and if she lived in the past, she would definitely be some sort of warrior.
"Earth to Ka-Go-Me." The brown haired woman said and her lips curved into a mischief grin.
"Kagome-chan, what are you hiding from your best friend?" The woman named Kagome hesitated, but finally said.
"Sango-chan, I met this guy-" Sango seemed dazed and a little bit hurt.
"Wha? A guy. And when did you exactly plan on telling me? This is big."
"It's not like that! I'm just confused. I never met someone so entrancing. When he held me in his arms, it felt like I was supposed to be there, as if I belonged there. And his eyes… You should have seen them Sango-chan. Rays of sunshine melted into purest liquid and mixed with the purest gold. His hair is the total difference. Moonlight melted into the mane of softest tresses. And those gorgeous ears of his-"
Sango coughed lightly as her best friend trailed away. Kagome turned beat red and bowed her head.
"So, Kagome-chan, you like him?" Sango fixed her stunning dark eyes at her friend and wiggled her eyebrows.
"No, how could I like a man I've met only once in my life?"
"But you speak of him like he is it." Sango lowered her hands from her hair and smiled.
"I-"
"Sango-chan," a voice came and a pair of hands embraced Sango from behind, "I've missed you my dear." Sango smiled as her boyfriend pecked her cheek. As the lecher he was, his gaze dropped to her bottom and he grinned.
"Miroku-kun, what are you doing here?" Kagome said and smiled bashfully. Miroku's eyes turned to dark amethyst in his amusement.
"Yeah, Miroku, what are you doing here?" Sango said. 'He must be planning something.' She grinned inside of her mind at the thought.
"I just couldn't spend a moment without you Sango. I had to see you." His head dipped lower and she felt sudden electricity flowing through her body. It was like every other time he kissed her, but now…
"Oi Miroku, get a room, will you?" A rather rude voice said. Both women turned to see who the newcomer was. Sango glanced at her face with surprise. Kagome turned pale in approximately five seconds.
"Must you ruin everything Inuyasha?" Miroku said in his calm voice and took a seat beside Sango. He put a hand on her thigh and played with the fabric of her short pants. He finally briefly kissed his girlfriend on the lips.
The innocent gesture only left Sango craving for more. Neither of them noticed the fierce blush of the other woman as the man named Inuyasha whispered something in her ear.
-x-
"It's in my head, the madness. I can feel it getting closer." Miroku said to the woman beside him. The dark haired beauty nodded, but her eyes went wide.
"I am dangerous company to keep." He whispered. The dark chocolate eyes of the woman went darker, now closer to the black of her pupil then to true brown. He recognized it at once. Desire.
"I fear you sometimes." She blurted. His laughter filled the air. It was a cold, humorless sound. His amethyst eyes sparkled with amusement.
"I fear myself sometimes. The claws that hold me are squeezing my mind, my heart, my very soul." He spared on pathetic look at his hand and sighed.
"My demons are closer to killing me now than ever." A soft touch of the petite hand. His anchor. His salvation. And his doom.
"Why, Miroku?" She got nearer and hugged him from behind. He squeezed her hand.
"Because I've found you."
-x-
Sango knew that Miroku had many secrets. And she knew that it was his choice whether he would reveal them to her or not. His sole existence was veiled in darkness.
No matter how good Kohaku was at hacking computers, even he couldn't find any information on a person named Miroku Houshi. And then doubt began eating her. He was hiding something from her.
And behind his peaceful exterior, behind his charming personality, behind his deep blue eyes, laid a secret that could ruin them. Ruin her.
'Cause trust was not easily earned, but could disappear in a blink of an eye.
-x-
Miroku watched as Sango spared one last heartbroken glance in his direction. He felt like a lovesick fool. He had nearly ruined her life. But, he knew, she would get over him. She had the spirit of a warrior in that slender body of hers. Her heart would heal with time. But what about him? Another figure emerged from the darkness as he stared after the only woman he had ever loved.
A fool, he was.
"So, you let her go?" Inuyasha whispered with swirling rage in his voice. A rage that was caused by the sheer stupidity of his best friend.
"I had to, Inuyasha. She would heal with time. Her heart will be repaired, her soul mended." He closed his eyes and escaped into the only place he could be with her. His mind. It filled with visions of the creamy skinned brunette that had captured every thought of every day. Her eyes, two lights in the darkness, two flares that vanished the curse of madness. And now, gone.
"And what about your heart?" Inuyasha's voice interrupted his train of thoughts. Miroku sighed.
"My heart with always stay with her. Maybe it will manage to love again when she turns to dust." The image of Sango, cold and lifeless, filled his mind with horror. Every cell in his body rebelled against it, against the death that awaited her. Against his best friend.
"You have forever, after all." Inuyasha whispered and blended in with the darkness again. And then he disappeared, like he was never even there.
"Forever."
Suddenly forever seemed so close. Suddenly end seemed not that far away when she was gone.
-x-
He watched her cry. He watched his beautiful and strong Sango cry every night to her sleep. She didn't show it at day, but he felt that she was tearing up inside.
And all he wanted to do was to hug her, to hold her close, to never let her go. But he couldn't. He wouldn't. Not because of him, but because of her. He wanted to save her the misery.
"And how Miroku? By making her even more miserable?"
-x-
"I don't hate you!" She said, that nearly heartbroken expression on her face once again.
"I just want to save you while there's something left to save Miroku. I care about you. I-" And then the blue eyed man watched his beloved break down right in front of him.
"I love you, my dearest Sango. I always loved you. But I cannot give you the answers you want." She just stood there for a moment, his beautiful, unbreakable Sango, his warrior. He closed his eyes.
"No, Sango, you are better off without me." He sighed as the cold rain began to fall. He turned his face away from her.
"I just want the truth." She whispered as her arms wrapped around his lower body. Her damp face was buried in the soft fabric of his T-shirt and he could feel her body warming his in the cold night.
"I don't know if you really want the truth." Her hold only tightened around his body and he felt the desire burning inside him. It took nearly all the control he had to turn to face her. And then, he realized he made a grave mistake.
Sango was nearly soaked now, her clothes plastered to her body like second skin. It outlined her toned body perfectly. And Miroku could visualize himself taking her clothes off, laying her on the bed and just satisfying his needs. The curtain of her hair was down, also wet, and going all the way to her waist.
'I never realized how long her hair was.' He slowly cupped her face and brought her mouth on his. She tasted like autumn rain and vanilla, like something that he was both tempted to taste and needed to survive. He started the kiss with soft caresses and slow nipping on her bottom lip.
His tongue traced the outline of those peach colored lips. Sango slid her hands underneath his wet shirt, aching to feel his skin. Her fingers traced fire that burned him inside out and sent blood all the way down to his groin. His tongue swept rapidly in her mouth and he nearly moaned when he explored every hidden corner of it.
She felt a flutter in the pit of her stomach when his calloused hands reached to remove her shirt. Something in her mind screamed that he had hurt her, but the sensation of his body being so near, so touchable, was overwhelming.
"I think," his husky voice said in her earlobe, sending shivers through her spine, "we need a place little bit more private."
With those words, he scooped her in his arms and they disappeared in the rain.
-x-
He took in her form as she laid on the bed- his bed-, her dark eyes waiting for him. She was beautiful, he would never let it pass, but now, as she was giving herself on a silver platter to him… she was breathtaking. He made himself to stop, just this once before madness took over. A madness that held her name on its forehead.
She shivered as his violet-blue gaze swept over her naked features. Maybe she shouldn't have done this. Maybe she isn't what he expected her to be. A sudden wave of embarrassment flushed her face. She reached for something to cover her body up, but he stopped her. His hands brushed the outline of her body and he averted his gaze to meet hers.
"Perfect," he said, "my perfect Sango." Her body flushed even more, but this time from desire. His deep eyes held a promise of pleasure and need. Such strong, raw need it nearly hurt her to look at him and not kiss every inch of his lips. She stood up, her self-awareness nearly faded now, and whispered into his earlobe.
"Kiss me." A simple second later, she was back on the bed, and he was on top of her, his clothing mysteriously gone. And he was kissing her. It was brutal, the kiss, filled with desire and need and affection. She gripped his midnight locks, and she never wanted to let him go. His warmth was an anchor, a reminder that she wasn't alone anymore.
And in the next moment, it was gone, and she felt vulnerable once again. She covered her breast with her arms and just stared at the man who took her heart. She saw the madness of his curse dragging him down. She saw the agony in his eyes every time he took a chance to look at her.
"Sango." He groaned.
"My Sango, this could destroy me. But it wouldn't matter. Only thing that would… it could destroy you, too." She didn't answer, her body moved on its own as she cupped his face and placed a chaste kiss on his lips.
"There is always hope, Miroku." And in that moment, he knew. She was ready to embrace everything for him. The darkness and the light. The curse that clawed his mind every day. She was giving herself to him and to the rising tide of his heart.
"If you fall, I fall with you." Her warm breath tickled his ear and he felt himself grow even harder than he already was.
"We will fall together."
And with those simple words, they lost themselves in the tangle of both bodies and minds, in the merging of souls, in the act of love.
-x-
A soft chime of bells announced yet another customer. Sango sighed heavily. A day was nearly over, and she was about to close the bookshop.
"But another customer never hurts." She put on a perky smile. The dark haired man seemed so sucked in by the books that he didn't even notice her.
'So, he is ignoring me? Well, it's time to change the tactic.' She slowly walked to the man and put her arms around his waist. She saw the shock in his eyes and she smiled wickedly. Something in those deep blue eyes smiled back at her as she kissed him.
"You're late." She said and bumped Miroku on the head. Miroku smiled apologetically, rubbing the sore spot.
"Sorry, love, I was caught by Inuyasha and your best friend. They couldn't stop talking." He kissed the top of her head and drew her in his arms.
"Thank you Sango." He said then.
"You believed when none else did, not even me. And now I have you-forever." She just smiled and hugged him closer.
"I love you. Remember. No one can take it away."
-x-
I already said that Kamis have funny ways, didn't I? Well, now I'll repeat it. Kamis do have strange ways of bringing things together.
Miroku was… broken. He hid it well, better even than Fluffy or I could. When the devil, Naraku, cursed him, he was left incomplete. Forever.
Because the curse was, if Miroku ever fell in love, he would die. The curse would consume him completely. But if he didn't love, he would slowly fade from this world and into madness. That's why Miroku never allowed himself to get attached.
Through the centuries, we became even closer, but there was always a wall that separated us. He found his sanctuary in music, it became his passion. It made him live his days easier.
And then… his world fell apart when he met Sango. From day one, he knew that she was his downfall. But she was a lot more than that. She was a warrior, and her faith in their love kept them both alive. Sango gave Miroku everything he had ever wanted.
A companion, a comfort, a lover.
Someone who will be by his side in his darkest hour. Even more that Love, she gave him Friendship.
And his life took a new rhythm.
It was taken over by Kindness's tune.
-x-
A/N: The final installment. I've been working on this for like, 3 months now?
Miroku and Sango, gotta love them. Last paragraph is in Inuyasha's POV, just to be sure.
It's confusing as ever, but I'm satisfied. I finally have time to write.
Lub~MB